In the News Teaching Activity – does the water industry need stronger regulation? (May 2024)
The water industry is under ever-closer scrutiny after a parasite in the water supply was found to have caused a wave of illness amongst the residents of Brixham. This is not the only problem that...
Economics Weekly Quiz | 24 May 2024
Here's our weekly economics news quiz covering stories from the UK and global economic events of the passed 7 days.
In the News Teaching Activity – are the rich getting richer while the poor get poorer in the UK? (May 2024)
Last week the Sunday Times published its ‘rich list’ showing the UK’s 350 wealthiest people have wealth greater than £795bn. Meanwhile there has been an increase in child poverty.
How can countries cope with falling birth rates?
This BBC article looks at the implications of a falling birth rate for a developed economy, noting that there are only really two viable solutions. Either ensure that your population remains...
In the News Teaching Activity – Why is the USA putting tariffs on Chinese EVs? (May 2024)
Ed Conway, Economics correspondent at Sky News, takes a closer look at the US decision to put an 100% tariff on Chinese electric vehicles (EV). He argues that there is a political reason for the...
Economics Weekly Quiz | 17 May 2024
Here's our weekly economics news quiz covering stories from the UK and global economic events of the passed 7 days.
In the News Teaching Activity – Will the Bank of England cut base rates this summer? (May 2024)
The Bank of England kept the base rate on hold at 5.25% at its meeting on 9th May, but indicated the next move may be downwards. Hot on the heels of the Bank’s Governor saying the UK was not...
Is cyclical unemployment less of a risk for the UK?
Phillip Inman looks here at the latest labour market data and suggests that whereas unemployment is likely to rise in the months ahead, it seems as though we've moved into a new labour market...
The Guardian explores here the running costs of heat pumps and argues that, in cost terms, there's currently little to choose between running a heat pump and a conventional gas boiler at present....
Assessing the Impact of the Pandemic on Well-Being
This Larry Elliott article highlights the external costs of the pandemic, arguing that these weren't factored in to assessments of the costs of the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. He focuses in...
The latest house price data shows a stagnation in house prices as the housing market responds to higher mortgage interest rates, but there are some regional differences.
How Singapore Got So Crazy Rich
The Singapore story: how has Singapore grown so rapidly, overtaking the UK and the US in terms of per capita GDP? This Bloomberg clip highlights how its location, and the classic approach of moving...
Reflections on the 2024 Economics Revision Livestreams
The main micro and macro exams are fast approaching and I hope that tens of thousands of Economics students are revising hard and well ahead of their papers. We have just completed thirty live...
Here are some YouTube shorts covering micro exam technique ahead of Paper 1
Economics Weekly Quiz | 10 May 2024
Here's our weekly economics news quiz covering stories from the UK and global economic events of the passed 7 days.
Disney and Warner to bundle streaming services
Bundling is a common feature in some markets, where there's complementarity such as broadband and TV subscription packages, mobile phones and network charges and so on. However, it's rare for...
In the News Teaching Activity – will Venice’s access fee have its desired effect? (May 2024)
This summer the City of Venice is trialling a new access fee of 5 euros to try and prevent over-tourism. Critics argue it won’t deter day trippers from visiting and is just a way of revenue-raising...
In the News Teaching Activity – why has the OECD downgraded its UK growth forecasts? (May 2024)
The OECD has just published its latest economic outlook and its forecasts for UK economic growth for 2024 have been reduced from 0.7% to 0.4%.
The opportunity cost of closing police stations
Torsten Bell with his weekly nugget in the Observer, and a lovely example of the concept of opportunity cost, as revealed by analysis of public spending on police stations. Apparently, for every...
Contestable Markets - The Rise of Shoe Brand Hoka
This Business Insider video looks at the rise of the latest on-trend shoe brand, Hoka, the producer of an increasingly prominent sports shoe. Within just over a decade of its creation, the brand...